NASA to Know Sunday Whether Shuttle Can Fly Monday 1 May 2011, by SETH BORENSTEIN , AP Science Writer

NASA to know Sunday whether shuttle can fly Monday 1 May 2011, By SETH BORENSTEIN , AP Science Writer

Saturday, foreshadowing what might happen after the shuttle program ends this summer. Gone were the crowds hoping to see the second-to-last shuttle launch and throngs of media for the saga of Giffords, shot in the head by a would-be assassin in January, and her husband, Endeavour commander Mark Kelly.

"It was great to see my friend Rep. Gabby Giffords again this week in Cape Canaveral. She was in good spirits, felt good and looked good," said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Florida Democrat. "She worked hard to be able to make the trip to Florida and I'm thrilled for her and Mark that she will be able to see him off as he launches into space. She is a fighter and a real inspiration."

Astronauts are likely to spend much of the weekend relaxing with their families - presumably including Giffords - at the limited access beach house, said Visitors at the Kennedy Space Center take photos and Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana. get a close view of space shuttle Endeavour on Pad 39A in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Saturday, April 30, 2011. Yesterdays' launch attempt was scrubbed due to "Today is a kind of rest and try to recoup day technical problems.(AP Photo/John Raoux) except for the technicians working to isolate and fix this problem," NASA spokesman Mike Curie said Saturday afternoon.

(AP) -- Engineers should know Sunday whether There are two likely scenarios for NASA's technical Endeavour's six-man crew and their families - glitch. It could be just a thermostat. That's what including wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords - need NASA is hoping for because that is something that to stick around for a Monday launch attempt or can be quickly replaced and put Endeavour on come back sometime around Mother's Day. track for a Monday 2:34 p.m. EDT launch attempt. Meteorologists give an 80 percent chance for Technicians spent Saturday draining fuel from the acceptable weather Monday afternoon with slight shuttle and then getting into the crowded guts of worries about winds at the emergency landing site, the left rear compartment. Their job is to figure out low clouds and visibility, Curie said. just what went wrong in a heating system for a power system that controls crucial hydraulics. The The other option includes a fault in another part of problem was severe enough to make NASA the electrical system that isn't quite so quickly fixed. postpone Friday's launch, which had become a It could be a box of switches that would then spectacle. require at least two days of testing. If that's the case, launch is not likely before May 8. NASA got Kennedy Space Center appeared mostly empty some partial good news Saturday afternoon when one fuse panel - which would have required a long

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time to fix and test - proved to be working normally, but there are still other potential problems that could cause a delay of several days.

NASA managers have to make a decision by early Sunday afternoon, if they want to be on track for a Monday launch.

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